After my first load of clothes dried, I heard music coming from the laundry room. When did household appliances become jukeboxes?

Brand experiences are subtle but ingrained into bookstores. Floor layouts, and lighting, customer engagement and even the checkout process are opportunities to build an engaging atmosphere between the store and the consumer. Some like to beat customers over the head with branded experiences, while others take a more balanced approach.

Inevitably, we brand strategy folks always ask our clients one key question: “You’re at a cocktail party, how would you describe what your company does?” Ironically, when I’m at a cocktail party (which is almost never) the same question results in one of two scenarios.

This date will always be known for one thing.

In the world of fast fashion, your employees can make all the difference.

Let’s take a look at two major consumer brands that approach a large-scale ad campaign differently: one that is becoming unwieldy and unsustainable, and another that never loses its core message.

With its over 3,000 employees at the Grande Luxxe resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, the parent Grupo Vidanta brand is delivered with flawless consistency. How do they do it?

We've covered NASCAR and the NFL, but with Opening Day just around the corner, there's only one sports brand that matters for the next half-year: Major League Baseball.

Ok. My turn. Hut Hut Hut. Three words that are in the American psyche. Here are another three: Super Bowl Sunday.

I have what some consider to be a “dirty little secret,” a “guilty pleasure” if you will. Do you know the significance of the phrase “Boogity, boogity, boogity?” How about the true significance and power of the number 3? If you do, then you’re familiar with one of the greatest branded sports in America.

Often times I find that “cool” brands are viewed with skepticism in the business-to-business arena. Buyers instinctually feel “cool” brands may be lacking substance, that they’re all form and no function, and that potentially, the cool factor may be covering up for some operational, service or product deficiency. I couldn’t disagree more.

When a recent lawsuit alleged Anheuser-Busch InBev has been watering down its best-selling brands of Budweiser, Michelob and others, effectively lowering the alcohol content, a little bit of that trust might have been spilled on the bar.

As branders, we preach that a company's brand is communicated through its corporate culture and, for some businesses, that the people themselves are the brand. So, do a person's "optional" "niceties" (grammar included) affect your perception of them? Of the company or brand they represent?

You do not have to be the next biggest, baddest, coolest thing out there to have a strong brand that produces results. Sometimes it’s hip to be square.

American Airlines recently unveiled a new logo that’s part of a multi-year effort to “re-brand” the airline, according to aa.com. Nice work, AA: You’ve put a shiny coat of lipstick on the proverbial pig and succeeded in giving “branding” a bad rap all at the same time.

Research in Motion becomes its hero brand, BlackBerry.

I can envision it now as the next reality show. The problem — it is reality in Florida. The solution: The 2013 Python Challenge. But is a hunt enough to get the job done? And how can such a niche audience be reached and utilized?

Good brands are built on a promise that the brand will consistently live up to certain expectations. In the midst of a severe crisis, the Lance Armstrong brand must re-establish its emotional connection with supporters.

The current market is saturated with portable systems, home consoles, PC game aggregators, phone and tablet games and various combinations thereof. How do companies find a way to enter such a diverse and competitive market? With the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) running this week, I’m betting this will be the time to find out.

Corporate brands can learn a lot from teen pop icon Justin Bieber who has built a brand that his audience can identify with, nurture relationships through and engage with as a form of self-expression.